


You're Safe With Me

by crutchie_394



Series: Medda Crusade [1]
Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Medda is an amazing mom, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Past Child Abuse, Violence, sort of like a modern day Refuge, which is basically canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-03 21:15:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15827079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crutchie_394/pseuds/crutchie_394
Summary: Jack was used to being pulled out of the darkness by a sharp kick to his stomach or the jingle of keys that made him tense. Once, an older boy had woken him up by boxing his ears and pushing him off the top bunk.What he wasn’t used to was a soft voice in his ear and a gentle hand pushing back the hair clinging to his forehead with sweat.~~~I'm awful at summaries, but I wrote the Medda content we all needed so it's okay.





	You're Safe With Me

**Author's Note:**

> trigger warning: past child abuse, violence, panic attack 
> 
> I pulled this one out of the depths of my heart 
> 
> Jack is about 10 here. Enjoy!

Jack should have figured it would happen eventually. A new room, even one that didn’t smell of rotten food and dry blood wouldn’t stop the nightmares. A full stomach and warm blankets couldn’t fend off the shadows, no matter how hard he tried to stay awake, to stay away from those demons haunting his dreams.

Harsh whispers of  _“Watch your mouth!”_ and  _“You’ll learn to listen, boy,”_  were echoing in his ears. The cracks of belts were stretching like fire across his back and he could feel burning slaps to his cheeks and the black eyes that would ache for days.

_“Stop!” Jack shouted. His voice rung across the dining hall like a bell that made everyone else fall silent. He grabbed a guard’s wrist just as he was reaching for a little boy, a few years younger than Jack himself. “Don’t touch ‘im! He didn’t do nothin’.”_

_The guard snatched his hand back. His mouth twisted into a snarl, and in one second, he smacked Jack squarely across the face._

_“I thought the warden taught you to keep that trap’a yours shut, Kelly,” he said. Grabbing Jack’s collar, he practically lifted him out of his chair and leaned in close. Jack could smell smoke on his breath. “Guess his lessons didn’t work well enough to shut you up, did they?”_

_Jack said nothing._

_“Maybe we ought to nail it into you a little harder,” the guard said pleasantly. “What do you think about that?”_

_“I think you’re the one that’s gotta learn some manners,” Jack said. The guard’s grin fell._

_That was a mistake. He didn’t know why he kept making it._

_The guard pulled him into his side, dragging him out of the dining hall. Jack could feel a hundred young, scared eyes watching him go. He sighed, bracing himself for a curt knock on Snyder’s office and the fist in his hair that would drag him straight to the desk. It never came. Instead, the guard pulled him straight past the door and down the hall._

_Jack’s eyes widened. He struggled to squirm away, but the iron grip the guard had on his arms was cutting off his circulation and he couldn’t see himself winning a fight anytime soon._

_He’d done this a thousand times before. But that didn’t help the pit in his stomach as the guard flung the basement door open and dragged him down the stairs. There was a tiny closet in the corner, and the guard threw him inside. Jack slid down the wall, holding his twisted arm close to his chest._

_“Mister Snyder will be down to sew that mouth shut later,” the guard said, and, spitting at Jack’s feet, he slammed the door closed. Jack could hear the lock click from the outside, then the pounding of footsteps, and he was alone._

_Somehow, the dark silence was even worse than what would be waiting for him later._

Jack was used to being pulled out of the darkness by a sharp kick to his stomach or the jingle of keys that made him tense. Once, an older boy had woken him up by boxing his ears and pushing him off the top bunk.

What he wasn’t used to was a soft voice in his ear and a gentle hand pushing back the hair clinging to his forehead with sweat.

“Jack, it’s alright. Wake up, baby, you’re safe.”

Jack wasn’t sure who that was, but they didn’t sound like they were trying to hurt him. His eyes flew open, but as he looked around wildly, the black spots clouding his vision and the panicked gasps clawing their way out of his throat were keeping the safety and calm away.

“Hey, baby, it’s Medda, alright? It’s just me.”

Medda. He knew that name. That was the name of his new foster mom, the one that had pulled him out of the Spider’s web. She took him to the new diner downtown and gave him a new paint set and kissed the top of his head after dinner.

“Jack, honey, I need you to look at me. Can you see me? I’m right in front of you.”

Tears were streaming down his cheeks and his breaths were loud and shaky, but his eyes were adjusting. There was a dull light in the room. Someone was sitting on his bed. His blanket was bunched up around his legs. He threw it off and scrambled back until his back hit the wall. There was nothing behind him, he was safe, he didn’t do anything -

“Do you think I could touch you, Jack?”

Jack shook his head jerkily.

“That’s okay. Okay. You just need to breathe with me. You hear me? In and out.”

He heard Medda exaggerating her breathing from across the bed. He did what she said, following her and feeling his chest loosen with each exhale.

“There ya go. In and out. Can I take your hand now? I won’t hurt you, wouldn’t dream of it.”

How long had it been since she’d last asked? It sounded okay now that her voice was drowning out the cold ones in his ears. He nodded, flinching as he felt her fingers curling over his. She pulled his hand forward and put it on her chest. He could feel the vibrations of her breaths and her steady heartbeat.

“You feel that, baby? That’s me. I ain’t goin’ nowhere. I can promise you that.”

She shifted on the bed, getting closer, and Jack tensed until he met her warm eyes. Her eyes weren’t ice or pain. They were safety. Everything about her was safety. Her hair was rumpled and pulled out of the curls she kept it in for her shows. She was wearing a long night shirt. She looked like she’d just rolled out of bed, and Jack realized she probably had. He’d woken her up with his stupid nightmares when all he’d promised himself was that he wouldn’t bother her or give her any reason to send him back to Snyder. He’d messed up again.

“I-I’m sorry,” he said, feeling a fresh wave of hot tears come to his eyes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, it won’t happen again. I’m sorry, please don’t -”

Medda put a finger to his lips. There was a soft smile on her face, and Jack couldn’t help but trust her as she pulled him in her lap for a hug.

“You don’t got nothin’ to apologize for, kid,” she said. “Nothin’ at all. You didn’t do a thing, and I’ll sit up here with you all night if I have to.”

And that’s exactly what she did. They sat there in silence for what could have been hours. Medda hummed a song under her breath, and Jack smiled for the first time that night. Eventually, she hooked an arm under his knees and pulled him up as she stood and smoothed out her dress. He flinched, but she just put him down at the head of his bed, pulling a blanket around his shoulders.

His eyes were slipping closed again, but he forced them open. He couldn’t sleep. He didn’t want to go back to the dark closet and the grumbling stomach and the dry tears on his cheeks. He wanted to stay with Medda in his room where he was safe and -

“You can sleep, Jack,” Medda whispered, “I promise. You’re with Medda now, and I’m not lettin’ anything happen to you as long as I’ve got my feet on this Earth.”

Jack hummed. He let his head fall back against his pillow as his eyes forced themselves closed, feeling Medda squeeze his hand. Already half-asleep, his nightmares far gone and out of his head, he murmured, “Love ya, Momma.”

The thumb rubbing over the back of his hand went still. He opened his eyes, and for a split second, he panicked. He’d only been living with Medda for two weeks. What if she didn’t care about him like that? Why would anyone care about him in the first place? He didn’t deserve any of this, and if Medda just wanted to keep him around for a month and send him back to be tossed in another family, he couldn’t say he blamed her.

Then, Medda swiped her thumb under his eye, wiping away a stray tear. “I love you too, honey,” she said, patting his knee. “You know what? I think we just might have to fix my rule about kids bein’ in the theater. You’re not goin’ anywhere for a long, long time.”

**Author's Note:**

> anyway yeah if you don't think Medda would be the Greatest Mom and adopts every child that walks through her door then we didn't watch the same musical
> 
> thanks for reading! kudo, comments, and feedback are always appreciated. love you all, have a good day!


End file.
